Google to Invest $9B in US Offices and Data Centers

Google has announced plans to invest $9 billion in US offices and data centers this year, in a move the tech giant says will create 12,000 new full-time jobs within the company and thousands more among its partners and suppliers. Last year, the company had plans to invest $7 billion in those assets.

CEO Sundar Pichai acknowledged the irony of doubling down on its office footprint as it allows for flexible work schedules for its employees.

“Yet we believe it’s more important than ever to invest in our campuses and that doing so will make for better products, a greater quality of life for our employees, and stronger communities,” he said in prepared remarks.

In Georgia, Google plans to open a new Atlanta office and will invest in its data center in Douglas County. In Texas, Google will open a new downtown Austin office and will continue to invest in its Midlothian data center. Across the South, Google will invest in its data centers in Tennessee, Virginia and Oklahoma.

Other data centers that will receive continued investment include those in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in Nebraska, in Storey County, Nevada, and in The Dalles. Google will also invest in existing offices in New York, Cambridge, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Kirkland, Portland, and the Bay Area, and will build out its campus in Boulder.

Pichai noted that the company is aiming to set new standards for green building design as it strives to make its offices and data centers run on carbon-free energy 24/7 by the year 2030.

Also this week, Google  released its 2021 Economic Impact Report, which shows the company contributed to $617 billion in economic activity for millions of US businesses, nonprofits, creators, developers and publishers last year. The report notes that the Android app economy helped create nearly two million jobs last year, and YouTube’s supported 394,000 jobs in 2020.